Be Here
by Girl With The Dandelion
Summary: "I'm memorizing you." A short take on a few scenes with Finnick and Annie from Mockingjay. Mockingjay spoilers. Finnick's POV.


I wait beside Katniss. I wait for her. Katniss ran forward to get to Gale, but a nurse held her back. Katniss seems alright. This waiting has to be killing her just as much as it's killing me. After all, her fingers are just as raw as mine. I look over at her, about to say something when I hear my name.

"Finnick!" Immediately, I forget who Katniss is. There is no one in this room except for Annie. I'm not sure if I'm even here. I know for a fact Annie is though. And then I'm brought somewhat back to reality when I feel Annie crash into me, throwing me back against a wall. There are walls here? I'd thought I was on a cloud or something.

I wrap my arms around Annie's waist and there's nothing between us except for her sheet. I feel her lips press to mine and I can't help but feel a little less manly as tears fall from my eyes.

"Annie I love you so much. I love you."

Her fingers are everywhere. My hair, my eyes, my neck, tracing my lips. "I love you Finnick," she says, a smile overtaking her features. She's still touching my face. "I'm memorizing you. This way, they can't take you away from me. Ever." I hold her close to me, afraid of letting go. I'm afraid I might wake up, sedated an in a hospital bed, tying endless knots into a rope that's lost all structure. I'm afraid I might wake up, on the beach alone and lonely. But more than all of those things, I'm afraid I'll wake up and Annie will be gone, back with the Capitol.

"Finnick. Be here with me. I'm here. I am." And she kisses me again and I'm back on that cloud.

I say the words I didn't get to before I left for the Quell. Before I was torn from her arms. "Marry me Annie. Please marry me," I whisper. This was not a possibility for us before the war. For all I know, it is not a possibility now, but I want her to know it is the only possibility for me.

I feel her smile against my lips. "Do you even have to ask me that?"

* * *

><p>I could hardly restrain myself from throwing my arms around Annie and dragging her to a Justice Building of sorts when I heard we were permitted to be married. "But there's a small catch. You have to have a big wedding. And it will be televised. Do you agree to those terms?"<p>

I felt Annie stiffen beside me. She closed her eyes and sank a little into her chair. It wasn't the big wedding that was pulling her back into the darkest places in her mind. No, it was the idea of anything televised. Before I could say no, or ask if there was another solution, Annie sat back up again. Her gaze was distant, but she still answered Plutarch unwaveringly.

"Yes. We accept."

Her response sends Plutarch into a planning frenzy. He's gushing about how our wedding will set the precedent for a future for the rebellion. He goes on and on, and eventually he leaves, claiming we won't have a thing to worry about and that he'll take care of it all. I'm left alone with Annie, who has now collapsed into a ball of cries and tears.  
>Without any form of hesitation, I lift her up and I cradle her in my arms. I hum a lullaby from our district. Eventually she sings the words to the tune.<p>

"_Rolling waves and tumbling tides  
>The sand is warm the ocean wide<br>Hold my hand and all is well  
><em> _I'll wait for you, in the waters swell._

_Sunshine waves and calming tides_  
><em>Your hand is warm when its in mine<em>  
><em>Hold my heart and all is well<em>  
><em>I'll wait for you, in the ocean's swell.<em>

_I'll wait for you until all is well."_

"We don't have to do this Annie. I'll sign a paper if that's all you want."

She leans her head against my chest and closes her eyes.

"All I want is to be married to you, and if I have to face my demons to do so, then so be it. But I will not let them ruin this for us. I will be Mrs. Finnick Oddair, whether I'm sane or not."

I feel her smile against my chest. "You've always been sane to me Annie." She nods her head. "I'm sane. I just get lost sometimes. But I always come back to you." I kiss the top of her head. She's right. She always comes back to me.

* * *

><p>Plutarch wasn't exaggerating when he said it would be a big wedding. We didn't really have wedding ceremonies in District 4. Happiness wasn't exactly encouraged back home, only pined after. We exchanged our vows; Annie looked absolutely radiant. They brought out our cake and I saw Katniss back away out of the corner of my eye. I could only assume she saw what I did. I knew of Peeta's talent. I knew it had to be him. Who else could it have been?<p>

"Be here with me," Annie said, pulling my face down to hers. I have to stop leaving her. I get so lost thinking about the lives of my friends deteriorating right in front of me, that I accidentally neglect my wife. My wife? My wife! Annie is my wife! I was suddenly glad for the television crew. I wanted Snow to know that no matter what he has done to both me and Annie, no matter how much damage he has to done to either of us, he has not won. He cannot win. Not as long as I have my Annie.

"I love you Annie Oddair."

She giggled into my ear. "I love you Finnick Cresta." Isn't that the truth. I was hers completely.

* * *

><p>It feels like we've been married three minutes, not three weeks. Already, I have to leave her. And I know there's a very strong possibility that I will not be coming back.<p>

"I'll be back before either of us knows I've left." Annie leans her forehead against the cold wall, her fists planted firmly in front of her.

"If I get anything short of a promise from you Finnick, I won't make it; I can't make it through this."

I fly forward and pull her to me. "Shh. Annie, I'll be right back. Coin just wants us to film footage with some of the victors as being part of the rebellion. Running around, scaling walls, pretending we are important. It's not a big deal." I'm startled when she pushes me away from her.

"I may lose it at times, and my mind might not be all there, but I am aware enough to know when you are lying to me Finnick Oddair. Now you promise to come back to me! Promise it! You always keep your promises Finnick and I want that promise!" She's sobbing now, and I feel the unmanly tears again. _  
><em>  
>I don't know what to say. Any promise I give her will be worthless because the fact of the matter is, I most likely won't be returning to her.<p>

"Promise to come back to us."

That stops my thought process completely. Annie has never referred to herself in a plural form before, and I highly doubt that she's started to now.

"Us?"

She brings my hands to her stomach. "Us." I forget that I'm supposed to be walking out the door and I smile so widely I think I might break my face.

"So you have to promise. Because you never break your promises. And there's two of us who love you now. So we need you to promise."

She's still crying, but she's completely calm. It's almost surreal. She's just looking at me, tears pouring down her face, but she's unnaturally calm. I keep my hands on her stomach and I lean down to kiss her. She kisses me back with such ferocity it's a wonder we're still standing. "Promise me," she says against my lips. _  
><em>  
>"I promise you Annie. I will come back to you. Both of you."<p>

She kisses me again and leans her head against me, her fists firmly against my chest now. "You're lying again. But you mean it."

To a person unaffected by the malice in the world, her sentence would make no sense, but to me, and to Annie, it's perfect. I'm lying when I promise, but I mean the promise with every fiber of my being.

"I love you Annie. I love you so much."

"So do we. We love you."

She runs her fingers over every corner of my face just like she did the day she came back to me.  
><em><br>I'm memorizing you. This way, they can't take you away from me. Ever._

My fingers roam her face as well. She will never be taken from me again. I lean down to kiss her stomach.

* * *

><p>Their claws tear into my skin and I do my best not to scream, but I know at least one slips out because I see Katniss peer down the ledge and into my eyes. She's saying something, and I try to call out to her. I want to tell her to take care of Annie. To make sure Annie moves on. To make sure my child has a future. I want to tell her not to give up. I want her to know that Peeta will always come back to her, just like Annie always comes back to me. I want her to know that killing Peeta will kill her. I want her to remember me as I was, not as I am, bleeding and being torn to bits. I want Katniss to know she was my best friend these last few months. I want her to remember to not blame herself. I want to tell her to stop looking at me and to run. I want her to run to Annie. I do not want Annie alone. I want Annie. I want so many things. Tell Annie I love her. Tell my child I love it. Kill Snow. Kill Coin. But I can't say any of these things because I feel teeth pull back at my neck.<br>_  
>I'm so sorry Annie. I really meant to keep my promise, I did. I'm so sorry. Annie. I love <em>you.

**Author's Note: **So, I've never written for Finnick and Annie before, and I like to think I did alright, but I can foresee myself taking this down and tweeking it a bit. Let me know your thoughts though!

P.s. I really wish Finnick had known Annie was pregnant.


End file.
